C&VG
1st December 1986
Publisher: Digital Integration
Machine: Spectrum 48K
Published in Computer & Video Games #62
TT Racer
Whooooo! Move over Kenny, Barry, Kevin and even you Ron! Here I come on my TT Racer! Digital do it again with an amazingly accurate simulation of Grand Prix motorbike racing.
Digital do for bikes what they've already done for jet fighters and super-helicopters, and put you in the hot seat.
TT Racer isn't your normal sit-in-front-of-the-computer-and-dodge race game. This is much more like the real thing. In fact, it's a bit of an insult to call it a game really. But don't think it's terribly serious either. TT Racer is an entertaining and addictive bit of software.
Once you've got past the terrible Lenslok protection, you'll see a menu screen which looks as though it would be at home on the flight deck of Concorde. There are so many different options flashing away at you!
Still, what it all boils down to is that you can choose from four different sorts of bike, twelve different international race tracks, how long you want your race to be, or if you just want to practise and at what level you want to race at.
You can even save lap record tables or bike performance characteristics and the menu selection to enable you to resume a racing session at any time. More about that later.
At first, you'll be tempted - and rightly - to get stuck in and race. This is a great way to learn the ropes and you'll soon discover that the controls are very sensitive. Your first outings will more often than not end up in the grass.
It's best to begin by riding one of the smaller bikes as there's so much instrumentation to worry about, and you can concentrate on simply staying on the track.
You can select an 80cc, 125cc, 250cc or 500cc machine. Each has different instruments and the bigger bikes even have wing mirrors so you can check what's coming up to overtake.
In practice mode, you can tweak your machine so it is perfect for the particular track you've chosen to race on. You can adjust gear-ratios, select the right sort of tyres, adjust the steering and even add automatic gears if you want. Then, using the useful save option from the menu, you can store all this away track by track so you've got the best machine for all the races. Again, just like the real thing...
During a race you can make a pitstop to change tyres and refuel - only really necessary during Grand Prix events.
At the top of the main race screen, you'll see a "pitboard" which transmits info about the lap times you are putting in, plus your position in the race and how many bikes are in front and behind you. There are fifteen in each race.
On the bigger bikes you get a tyre indicator and a fuel gauge, plus all the normal instruments. You are looking out over the handlebars and, as well as your instruments and the track, you can see your clutch lever and brake lever which are animated.
When racing, cornering and slick gear changes are things to get right if you are going to be a real champ.
Another pretty neat feature of this program is the networking option which allows you to link up to eight Spectrums together and race against your friends! The computers monitor the action and compiles a stat sheet at the end of each event giving you lap records and race positions.
Only a couple of moans. I wish Digital wouldn't persist in putting Lensloks on their games. It's a real bind to have to cope with it every time you load the game. And maybe some of the lesser machines could have been made a bit easier to control in order to make the "game learning curve" quicker for beginners, and perhaps give gamesters the option of playing an "ordinary" arcade style race.